Israeli strikes on northern Lebanon and Gaza have killed dozens of people, rescuers and officials say, including a number of children.
The Lebanese health ministry said at least 23 people including seven children were killed in Almat near Byblos, to the north of the capital Beirut.
In northern Gaza the official Palestinian news agency Wafa and Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency said at least 30 people had been killed in an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia. The civil defence said the dead included 13 children.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented on the strike in Lebanon. It said it struck a site in Jabalia where “terrorists were operating”, steps had been taken to mitigate civilian harm and the details were under review.
The Lebanese health ministry said rescue workers were still searching the rubble after the strike in Almat.
Israel has escalated its campaign against Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Its main focus had been southern Lebanon, aiming to weaken the group’s capacity to launch rockets across the border. But in recent weeks, operations have targeted cities and towns throughout Lebanon.
In a separate incident to the south, three medical workers were killed when an Israeli strike hit an Islamic Health Authority building in Adloun, the health ministry said.
The IDF said it had intercepted Hezbollah rockets on Saturday after the militant group launched 70 projectiles, according to Israel’s military.
Since the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah seven weeks ago, at least 3,002 people have been killed and more than 1.2 million displaced across Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.
Credit: bbc.com
